It's not really meant to be a race to see who gets around the floor the fastest. So in terms of composition, Quickstep routines are basically balanced on the whole, as they should be. Yes, they will contain groups that race across the floor at top speed, but they will also pause for highlights, as well as dancing groups that aren't meant to cover space as quickly, showcasing different qualities of the Quickstep -- swinging, turning, shaping, hopping and jumping around, etc.

Interestingly, the groups that do move across the floor at top speed are not typically the ones that employ the larger steps. The greatest body speed through space is achieved through a number of small-to-medium steps taken in much quicker succession -- say, for example, 5 steps in the same space of time that you might normally take just two or three steps at the bronze level. The difference here is that the dancers are taking control of the third element in the 3-way relationship -- time between steps. They do this not by changing the tempo, of course, but by using step timings that allow for more steps, such as Q&QQQ. With that many steps squeezed into a measure of music, there is a limit to how big each of those steps can be. But the overall distance covered in that time will be greater than what they would have covered with fewer, larger steps.

So in other words, when you get to pick your own timings through choreography, you can move faster simply by dancing faster rhythms, in spite of the fact that each individual step might have to be slightly smaller. But when the timing is fixed and steps are slightly slower (SQQ, etc), bigger means faster through space. Even top-level Quickstep still has its fair share of basic, swinging actions -- open naturals, running finishes, quick open reverses, etc. And during those more moderate rhythms where you have a deeper, Waltzier swing, the steps will be larger to maximize the distance, and therefore the body speed through space.

But whereas top competitive pros will tend to strive for maximum output to get an edge over their competition, I wouldn't recommend this be the goal of the average syllabus dancer, or even the novice competitive dancer, for that matter. The pursuit of distance can easily break the form, and any perceived benefits will be outweighed by the liability of compromised posture, effortful movement and/or awkward delivery from foot to foot. This is, of course, a very individual choice, best made not on one's own, but by an experienced coach who has a good awareness of his students' skills.

Nonetheless, having an understanding of the relationship between body speed through space, time between steps and space between steps is a useful tool to help you see the big picture and make better informed decisions when it comes to staying on time with the music.

Regards,
Jonathan

Big or small steps may be misleading, step size is all relative.
The advice to keep steps small in fast latin dances is based on the fact that there is usually a reversal or at least a strong change of direction involved and if the body moves too far it can be difficult to get it back.
This does not apply in the quickstep so the advice to take big (or not too small) steps is fine. Beginners very often skip in the chasses as Telemark says and that is difficult to stop if we focus on it directly. If instead, we concentrate on driving into the preceding Slow step then the Quicks usually take care of themselves and the skipping disappears. It's probably a similar effect to that mentioned by Telemark with the non-standard counting. That sounds like something worth trying but it may rely on the pupils having learnt a waltz chasse before they start learning quickstep.

I think that to suggest bigger steps in the Quickstep is wrong. It can give an inexperienced dancer the wrong impression. For instance the person on the inside of a turn should know that person must take a smaller step than the person on the outside of the turn. To do it that way will ensure that person on the inside does not arrive before their partner. Telling somebody to take bigger steps is not going to help.Something else according to one of the greats, Marcus. We very rarely use the center of our heel. We should use either to the left side of our heel or the right side but not the center. Because we never should step dead square to our front. The same applies to the toe area of our foot. Wonderful thing this Inter- net.

Agreed, Quickstep timing can get tricky. Rolling through the entirety of the foot on each step helps control the transfer of weight.

Hope this helps!